Inyan

And now I understand....

9 August 2018 43 Days old A friend told me they had achieved 93%+ success by grafting with parafilm. So, stoked to see some are getting that particular grafting style down pat. Now If we can start seeing some more grafting pictures....

40 days old 6 August 18

First, I notice my scion is a little moist and has been moist for about about a week. Now, letting her rest longer before undressing her would be nice as it would allow her to poke out the top and look around. Letting her poke out would also help keep her top on. Trust me, its no fun when the top comes off prematurely if its not done just right. So, one pull with the blade down the side and away from the scion loosens things up a bit. Now, one could be done at this point if one wanted to as this will release some moisture and allow the parafilm dressing to fall off of its own accord given some time. Still, if one is impatient, you can gently peel the dress back on both sides so as not to alert the scion that anything is even happening. No pressure on her whatsoever. Once the dress is sufficiently peeled back, you may lightly shimmy the dress up and back by pushing up on the parafilm rather than pulling or tugging at the parafilm. If any resistance is met... remember, "No means No" and do not persist with your efforts today. Perhaps tomorrow she will be in the mood and a little more loosened up. Never force it!

She's hot, sticky sweet. From her head to her feet.... she's drenched and ever so moist...

Grafting Brugmansia is about as easy as grafting cacti @Gimli With that being said, green pieces of Brugmansia can be adequately grafted with just parafilm. However, self-adhesive coban as a first or secondary larger is very nice to use for older wood when it comes to Brugmansia. I say that as coban can exert a lot more force to hold a cut that is slightly off in place so that the union forms more easily. The down side of very green specimens and grafting with Brugmansia... they tend to dry out very easily if not covered almost completely in parafilm and or coban. I've used humidity domes to increase humidity with very green specimens and even filled water bags up to surround the graft to supply extra water to grafts to ensure they did not dry out... believe it or not... it worked.

Cut up a batch of 100 + Trichocereus/Echinopsis grown out from seed and a few named cultivars

I've used both of these methods myself as well. Unlike parafilm, you won't have to worry about too much humidity with grafts this size exposed to so much open air. The opposite though is often true. Meaning you may have to contend with scions drying up faster than you might like. This presents more of a problem if there is a bit of tissue that has an air bubble that has managed to get into the graft union or worse... a bit of tissue that has not seated properly at all. This is why with grafts this size I frequently use self-adhesive coban or another material to draw down the sides and ensure I have good seating all the way around. Enough of my rambling, I love the fact that @Gimli your showing different grafting techniques. Each one with its own distinct advantages and disadvantages. Something you learn best by becoming proficient at them all. I'll look forward to updates from you on these grafts. And one quick question... is that one graft I thought was parafilm... cling wrap or parafilm? If parafilm, you sure as heck got a big sheet of that one to work with or at least it looks that way from my perspective which of course could be wrong.

Soaking some seeds from my first hybrid seed pod of the year... three different Genus mixed up in this bad girl

This is a little larger than what I normally give instructions for with grafts using parafilm and while it is possible to do... I definitely recommend poking some holes in this one day 2. Day 3 poke some more holes and so on. By day 5, you should be cutting the edges of the parafilm away from the stock thus beveling the stock just a bit more. This should allow a lot more air to circulate and keep this one from getting infected as specimens this size are a bit more temperamental with parafilm. I've done them and so can you. You just need to pay extreme attention to how this one is going each day and adjust fire accordingly.

37 days old... starting to get used to the full sun... 3 August 2018

Fine and cranking is an understatement my friend. If my grafted seedlings aren't purple at this stage I know I'm not pushing them hard enough.35 days old 1 August 2018

A bigger scion might fit perfectly on top and thus the scions vascular ring could entirely miss the vascular ring of the stock. Essentially sitting on top with the vascular ring either on the outside or the inside of the opposing growth ring. In reality, grafting a seedling such as this on the side of the scion virtually assures that there will be at least one if not two points of contact and thus a graft is almost 100% assured. However, for those less coordinated, this little trick will help keep your seedlings from sliding around thus assuring you have a good connectionJust don't forget to wrap it before you tap it As you can see, i also water my grafts on the day they are made as well as days prior and so on as I want my grafts to grow fast. Still, you may find you want to graft your young seedlings sideways. You won't have a vascular ring to contend with on your scion that way... you will have vascular lines, as in two lines, that you can simply place over your ring.

From what I can tell, you made this a little harder than it had to be by using such a large seedling, but I also see what appears to be perfect technique so I'll go ahead and predict 99.99% success on this one. Not having to worry about knocking over that graft or putting it in a humidity chamber is another nice plus. Very nice work my indeed my friend. There is nothing I like to see more than a successful graft. Its the greedy nature in me that figures... the more grafts the more eye candy to share. With that being said, Day 34 31July 2018 And a few trays of some hopefully interesting hybrids have been grafted today as well.

Datura discolor by herself today...Note how her spiny seed pods hang downward. I would have loved to have been able to capture one of the many moths pollinating this girl today, but I was not fast enough to catch one in action.

Trichocereus scopulicola x Trichocereus terscheckii

Your grafts are looking good @Gimli First time I tried that feature<--- I believe. I love the different jourdaniana grafts as well. I've tried a few seeds germinated in different mixtures one with h202 and one without. The result just a few days into the experiment.... the mixture with h202 does indeed seem to be germinating very well in comparison to the one without, but I've also had two flushes of fungus growth I've had to contend with. Nothing major, just sprayed them surface with 3% h202 and applied a light dusting of sulfur each time. And thanks for the shout out about the videos. It really means a lot to me as that is why I post those videos... so you cacti enthusiasts can do better with than I do with the knowledge I share. In fact, I had someone whom I consider already very talented at grafting to share their recent attempt at grafting with parafilm and I can already tell... I'm going to be playing second fiddle to them in a very short time... I'm talking days to weeks if they practice sufficiently. While their technique differs slightly from my own, I am very pleased and excited to see such perfection in such a short time with a new grafting technique. Behind the scenes, when I'm not grafting I'm trying my best to mentor those people I know can be better grafters than myself. The more techniques one has under your belt the less limitations you have. Bottom line, there are many experienced grafters here whom I think would benefit from grafting with parafilm or I would not push it so much. Worst case scenario, you have another technique under your belt that you can pull out and use when the occasion arises. And while I sit at the keyboard taking time to look at your grafts which are very nicely done, I have to make time to take care of some grafting stock, order more labels for my grafts, and hopefully get my seed sowing addiction under control! Grafts made in the dark... poor vision... glasses and all. I never know when to quit. Sharing my passion for grafting is perhaps second only to watching my seedlings take off.

Is that you Auxin? I like to dress up too.

Grafted some Loph hybrids in the dark because grafting with light isn't challenging enough.

29 days old 26 July 2018

28 Days old 25 July 2018

Now that one is a tiny girl. Now, if you had of wrapped those three with parafilm their would have been no humidity bag to fall and they would all three be growing still. Still, nice work. One of the dangers of grafting without parafilm is any little bump and you can lose your graft. My grafts... you can literally toss across the room and as long as the scion doesn't get smooshed against a solid object I'm golden. Still, I must say you have skills. I'd love to see you come over to the dark side of grafting with parafilm. Downside... many leave the parafilm too thick before they put it over a tiny seedling such as the one you've done. The smaller the seedling, the thinner the parafilm must be pulled prior to placing it on the seedling as it can smash the seedling very easily.